President Obama will "sign an executive order tomorrow to establish a White House Council on Women and Girls, according to an administration official familiar with the move."

The Council will be chaired by Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser and personal friend to the president, and the day-to-day operations will be run Tina Tchen, who is currently director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and was a major fundraiser for Obama during the campaign.

"The mission of the Council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families," reads a memo describing the move and obtained by The Fix.

Very interesting. There's a lot of potential there; I fervently hope that the Council will be a functional and important addition to the administration and not one of the many sops of a similar nature various White Houses have thrown to marginalized constituencies in the past. Because if it does become something tangible and influential, that would be extremely exciting.

Relatedly, a new post in the State Department has been created "to tackle global women's issues."

Obama named Melanne Verveer, an aide in former president Bill Clinton's administration, as ambassador-at-large for international women's issues. She will serve at the State Department under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The appointment, which has to be approved by the Senate, "is unprecedented and reflects the elevated importance of global women's issues to the president and his entire administration," the White House said in a statement.

Clinton has put efforts to improve the lot of women at the heart of boosting international development, which she says must be an "equal partner" with diplomacy and defense in US foreign policy.

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Mmm...Womany!

President Obama will "sign an executive order tomorrow to establish a White House Council on Women and Girls, according to an administration official familiar with the move."

The Council will be chaired by Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser and personal friend to the president, and the day-to-day operations will be run Tina Tchen, who is currently director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and was a major fundraiser for Obama during the campaign.

"The mission of the Council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families," reads a memo describing the move and obtained by The Fix.

Very interesting. There's a lot of potential there; I fervently hope that the Council will be a functional and important addition to the administration and not one of the many sops of a similar nature various White Houses have thrown to marginalized constituencies in the past. Because if it does become something tangible and influential, that would be extremely exciting.

Relatedly, a new post in the State Department has been created "to tackle global women's issues."

Obama named Melanne Verveer, an aide in former president Bill Clinton's administration, as ambassador-at-large for international women's issues. She will serve at the State Department under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The appointment, which has to be approved by the Senate, "is unprecedented and reflects the elevated importance of global women's issues to the president and his entire administration," the White House said in a statement.

Clinton has put efforts to improve the lot of women at the heart of boosting international development, which she says must be an "equal partner" with diplomacy and defense in US foreign policy.

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